The reports come six months after the Atlas name was first trademarked by VW in the US.

Volkswagen has neither confirmed the name of its production Crossblue nor shown images of the finished product. But earlier leaked pictures of what Auto Sina reported was a pre-production car surfaced online back in August. They're shown in the gallery.

The seven-seater is based on the Crossblue concept of 2013, and the leaked images suggest the final model will stay true to that car's design.

Its styling has evolved from the large SUV look first seen on the new Tiguan and due to be integrated onto the exterior of the 2017 Touareg. However, the Crossblue gets its own distinct features, which include a muscular bonnet and squared-off wheel arches, to give it a more rugged appearance.

When launched, the production car will slot between the Tiguan and Touareg in Volkswagen’s growing SUV line-up.

Autocar sampled the Crossblue concept back in 2013. That car had a 187bhp 2.0-litre diesel engine supported by two electric motors – a 54bhp one sited next to the combustion engine at the front, and a 114bhp one mounted at the rear. Together, the three power sources provided a combined 302bhp, with a peak torque figure of 516lb ft.

Energy for the electric motors was supplied by a 9.8kWh lithium ion battery mounted in the floor of the cargo area.

A hybrid drivetrain resembling this is unsurprisingly expected to be included in the Crossblue’s engine line-up, alongside more conventional turbocharged four-cylinder diesel and petrol engines. A turbocharged V6 engine could also be offered in certain markets, with today's leaked images, which show a 'V6' badge on the rear of the car, appearing to back this speculation up.

As standard, the Crossblue production model will have front-wheel drive, with four-wheel drive available as an option and possibly standard on the most powerful models.

Volkswagen hasn’t let slip when the Crossblue will make production, but a 2017 debut at the Detroit motor show is likely. Autocar understands the model won't make it to the UK, and instead will focus on the US and Chinese markets.

Join the debate

What niche is there between a Tiguan and a Touareg? The Tiguan is already known to have a LWB 7-seat version not far away while a new Touareg is due next year in both 5-seat and 7-seat versions - the Skoda Kodiaq will be a sibling of the LWB Tiguan - so where does Cross-blue fit?

... except maybe the Tiguan XL (which is for China not for EU if I recall) sits on the Q5 / Crossblue parade. Somewhat. Like the original Qashqai+2 overlapped with the X-Trail mk1. Remember, if someone is going to steal you market, make sure its you!

I'm really not a fan of these horizontal slat, chrome-laden front ends that VW seems to be adopting for so many of its models. Volkswagens aren't exactly characterful or distinctive, and this feature makes them even more bland.

The Touareg is VW's large SUV offering (competing with the likes of the X5, RR Sport, Q7, Cayenne etc) while the Tiguan is two sizes smaller and competes with the X1, GLA, Kuga, Q3 etc. So I presume the Crossblue is X3 sized to go head to head with the Q5, GLC, Discovery Sport/Evoque. Either way, it seems odd that the model won't be offered in the UK when the Tiguan and Touareg sell relatively well as do vehicles in the X3 class.

The Touareg is VW's large SUV offering (competing with the likes of the X5, RR Sport, Q7, Cayenne etc) while the Tiguan is two sizes smaller and competes with the X1, GLA, Kuga, Q3 etc. So I presume the Crossblue is X3 sized to go head to head with the Q5, GLC, Discovery Sport/Evoque. Either way, it seems odd that the model won't be offered in the UK when the Tiguan and Touareg sell relatively well as do vehicles in the X3 class.

The original Tiguan was a tad smaller than X3 but the new one is considerable bigger - I've come to the conclusion that the new Tiguan, in it's yet to be launched LWB form is the basis for Cross-Blue which is simply styled differently for the Americans and Chinese.

Judging by its size and wheelarch forms it's just anothe Skoda Kodiaq derivative. Perhaps they're leaving that brand to do that market segment in the UK (practical 7 seater like Disco etc rather than sporty)?